近一半大城市正在下沉

近日，研究人员利用卫星雷达数据测量城市的下沉情况，发现16%的大城市每年海拔高度下降超过10毫米，近一半城市每年海拔高度下降超过3毫米。

🤔️小作业：

1. What kind of activity is mentioned in the passage related to subsidence?

A) Agricultural Practices

B) Urban Population Growth

C) Mining and Drilling Operations

D) Wildlife Conservation Efforts

A) Increasing Oil Drilling Activities

B) Implementing Managed Recharge of Aquifers

C) Building Taller High-rise Apartment Buildings

D) Expanding Urban Infrastructure Projects

无注释原文：

Cities Are Sinking Below Sea Level, Study Finds

From: The New York Times

As cities grow, they are also sinking.

An estimated 16 percent of the country's major cities are losing more than 10 millimeters of elevation per year and nearly half are losing more than 3 millimeters per year, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

These amounts may seem small, but they accumulate quickly. In 100 years, a quarter of the urban coastal land could sit below sea level because of a combination of subsidence and sea level rise, according to the study.

“It's a national problem,” said Robert Nicholls, a climate scientist and civil engineer at the University of East Anglia who reviewed the paper. Dr. Nicholls added that, to his knowledge, this study is the first to measure subsidence across many urban areas at once using state-of-the-art radar data from satellites.

Subsidence in these cities is caused in part by the sheer weight of buildings and infrastructure, the study found. Pumping water from aquifers underneath the cities also plays a role, as do oil drilling and coal mining, all activities that leave empty space underground where soil and rocks can compact or collapse.

Other countries, including the United States, have similar problems.

“Land subsidence is an overlooked problem that almost exists everywhere,” said Manoochehr Shirzaei, a geophysicist at Virginia Tech who has studied subsidence in American coastal cities using similar methods. Dr. Shirzaei also reviewed the new study on cities by Zurui Ao of South China Normal University, Xiaomei Hu and Shengli Tao of Peking University, and their colleagues.

“I believe the majority of the adaptation strategies that we have, and resiliency plans to combat climate change, are inaccurate, just because they did not include land subsidence,” he said. “It hasn't been studied the way, for example, sea level rise has been studied.”

The new study was based on satellite radar measurements of how much the ground surface in 82 major cities, accounting for three-quarters of the urban population, moved up or down between 2015 and 2022. The researchers compared these measurements to data on potential contributing factors, like the weight of buildings in these cities and changing groundwater levels underneath them.

The researchers also combined their subsidence measurements with projections of sea level rise to figure out which cities might end up below sea level. One caveat with these findings is that they assumed a constant rate of subsidence over the next 100 years, but these rates can change along with human activity.

About 6 percent of land in coastal cities currently has a relative elevation below sea level. If the global average sea level rises by 0.87 meters, or a little less than 3 feet, by 2120 (the higher of two commonly used scenarios considered by the researchers) that proportion could rise to 26 percent, this study found.

Being below sea level doesn't mean a city is automatically doomed. Much of the Netherlands is below sea level and sinking, but the country has been extensively engineered to prevent flooding in places and to accommodate it in others.

The key to minimizing damage is limiting groundwater extraction, the researchers wrote. Shanghai is already taking this approach and is sinking more slowly than other cities. In Japan, groundwater management over the years has proved successful at stabilizing subsidence in Tokyo and Osaka.

Some places are even combating subsidence by injecting water into depleted aquifers in a process called managed recharge.

It's difficult to stop subsidence entirely, Dr. Nicholls said. “You've got to live with what's left.” Mainly, he said, this means adapting to sea level rise in coastal areas; not just the sea level rise caused by climate change, but also the effects of sinking land.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Cities Are Sinking Below Sea Level, Study Finds

From: The New York Times

As cities grow, they are also sinking.

随着城市的发展，它们也在不断下沉。

sink /sɪŋk/ 1）表示“落下，沉下；降低”，英文解释为“to (cause something or someone to) fall or move to a lower level”举个🌰：Student numbers have sunk considerably this year. 今年的学生人数大幅减少。

2）表示“使失败；使陷入麻烦”，英文解释为“to cause something to fail or be in trouble”举个🌰：This rain could sink our plans for the barbecue. 这场雨会让我们的户外烧烤计划泡汤。

An estimated 16 percent of the country's major cities are losing more than 10 millimeters of elevation per year and nearly half are losing more than 3 millimeters per year, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

根据发表在《科学》杂志上的一项新研究，估计该国16%的大城市每年海拔高度下降超过10毫米，近一半城市每年海拔高度下降超过3毫米。

elevation /ˌel.ɪˈveɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“（水平或数量）提高，升高，增加”，英文解释为“an increase in the level or amount of sth”如：elevation of blood sugar levels 血糖升高；

2）表示“ 提拔；晋级；提升”，英文解释为“the process of sb getting a higher or more important rank”如：his elevation to the presidency 他提升到校长的职位。

3）表示“（某地方的）高度；（尤指）海拔”，英文解释为“the height of a place, especially its height above sea level”举个🌰：The city is at an elevation of 2000 metres. 这座城市海拔2000米。

These amounts may seem small, but they accumulate quickly. In 100 years, a quarter of the urban coastal land could sit below sea level because of a combination of subsidence and sea level rise, according to the study.

这些数字看起来可能很小，但积累得很快。根据这项研究，在100年内，由于地表下沉和海平面上升的共同作用，四分之一的城市沿海土地可能位于海平面以下。

accumulate /əˈkjuː.mjə.leɪt/ 表示“积累；积聚；积攒”，英文解释为“to collect a large number of things over a long period of time”举个🌰：As people accumulate more wealth, they tend to spend a greater proportion of their incomes. 人们积累了更多财富后，他们的花费占收入的比重也往往会增加。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述疫情期间房价上涨的文章中提到：Professionals who have carried on working from home but cut back on their spending have accumulated cash to splash. 那些改换成在家中继续工作但减少了开支的专业人士则积攒了可大笔支出的现金。

对比：

📍amass 表示“（尤指大量）积累，积聚”，英文解释为“to collect sth, especially in large quantities”举个🌰：He amassed a fortune from delivering newspapers.他靠送报纸积累了一笔财富。

📍rack up表示“大量获得（利润）；严重遭受（损失）；（体育中）多次赢得（比赛）”，英文解释为“If a business racks up profits, losses, or sales, it makes a lot of them. If a sportsman, sportswoman, or team racks up wins, they win a lot of games or races.”

coastal /ˈkəʊ.stəl/ 表示“（位于）海岸的；临海的；沿海的”，英文解释为“positioned on, or relating to the coast”如：a coastal town 海滨城镇。

subsidence /səbˈsaɪ.dəns/ 表示“（地面或建筑物的）下沉，沉降”，英文解释为“the process by which land or buildings sink to a lower level”举个🌰：The building had to be demolished because of subsidence. 这栋大楼因为沉降的原因必须拆除。

“It's a national problem,” said Robert Nicholls, a climate scientist and civil engineer at the University of East Anglia who reviewed the paper. Dr. Nicholls added that, to his knowledge, this study is the first to measure subsidence across many urban areas at once using state-of-the-art radar data from satellites.

“这是一个全国性的问题，”审阅该论文的东安格利亚大学气候科学家和土木工程师罗伯特·尼科尔斯说。尼科尔斯还表示，据他所知，这项研究是第一次使用最先进的卫星雷达数据同时测量许多城市地区的下沉情况。

state-of-the-art /ˌsteɪt.əv.ðiːˈɑːt/ 表示“最先进的；应用最新理念（或方法）的”，英文解释为“very modern and using the most recent ideas and methods”如：a state-of-the-art computer 最先进的计算机。

几个类似表达：

📍cutting-edge表示“尖端的，前沿的”，英文解释为“Cutting-edge techniques or equipment are the most advanced that there are in a particular field.”举个🌰：What we are planning is cutting-edge technology never seen in Australia before. 我们正在筹划的是澳大利亚前所未见的尖端技术。

🎬电影《像素大战》（Pixels）中的台词提到：I'm thinking this is a cutting-edge multinational enterprise. 我想是某先进跨国组织干的。

📍leading edge表示“（某活动领域的）最重要位置，领先地位；（尤指技术上的）前沿，尖端”，英文解释为“The leading edge of a particular area of research or development is the area of it that seems most advanced or sophisticated.”如：at the leading edge of scientific research 在科学研究的前沿。

satellite /ˈsæt.əl.aɪt/ 表示“卫星；人造卫星”，英文解释为“a natural object moving around a larger object in space”举个🌰：The moon is Earth's satellite. 月球是地球的卫星。

Subsidence in these cities is caused in part by the sheer weight of buildings and infrastructure, the study found. Pumping water from aquifers underneath the cities also plays a role, as do oil drilling and coal mining, all activities that leave empty space underground where soil and rocks can compact or collapse.

研究发现，这些城市的下沉部分是由建筑物和基础设施的巨大重量造成的。从城市地下含水层抽水也起了作用，石油钻探和煤矿开采也是如此，所有这些活动都会在地下留下空间，可能造成土壤和岩石的压实或坍塌。

sheer /ʃɪər/ 1）作形容词可以表示“陡峭的；近乎垂直的”，英文解释为“extremely steep; almost vertical”，如：a sheer mountain side 陡峭的山坡；

2）强调“（某物）之重/之大等”，英文解释为：used to emphasize that something is very heavy, large etc. 如：the sheer scope就是用于强调scope，范围之大，举个🌰：The sheer size of the country makes communications difficult. 该国幅员辽阔，造成了通信的困难。

3）也可以解释为“完全的，纯粹的（pure），彻底的”，英文释义：used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except，举个🌰：I'll never forget the look of sheer joy on her face. 我永远也不会忘记她满脸喜悦的神情。

infrastructure /ˈɪn.frəˌstrʌk.tʃər/ 表示“基础设施”，英文解释为“the basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively”举个🌰：The war has badly damaged the country's infrastructure. 战争严重破坏了该国的基础设施。

pump /pʌmp/ 1）表示“抽送；用泵（或泵样器官等）输送”，英文解释为“To pump a liquid or gas in a particular direction means to force it to flow in that direction using a pump.”举个🌰：The money raised will be used to dig bore holes to pump water into the dried-up lake. 筹到的钱款将用来挖井眼，再将水抽入干涸的湖中。

2）表示“洗胃”，英文解释为“If someone has their stomach pumped, doctors remove the contents of their stomach, for example, because they have swallowed poison or drugs.”举个🌰：One woman was rushed to the emergency room to have her stomach pumped. 一名妇女被紧急送进急诊室去洗胃。

aquifer /ˈæk.wɪ.fər/ 表示“含水土层，地下蓄水层，砂石含水层”，英文解释为“a layer of rock, sand, or earth that contains water or allows water to pass through it”

drill /drɪl/ 作名词 1）表示“钻；钻床；钻机”，英文解释为“a tool or machine that makes holes”如：an electric/pneumatic drill 电/风钻。

2）表示“（尤指军事）训练，练习”，英文解释为“an activity that practises a particular skill and often involves repeating the same thing several times, especially a military exercise intended to train soldiers”如：a spelling/pronunciation drill 拼写/发音练习，举个🌰：In some of these schools, army-style drills are used to instil a sense of discipline. 这些学校中有一些利用军训来培养纪律观念。

作动词，表示“（用特殊工具）钻孔；打眼”，英文解释为“to make a hole in something using a special tool”举个🌰：They are going to drill for oil nearby. 他们准备在附近钻探石油。

compact /kəmˈpækt/ 作动词，表示“压缩；把…压密实；把…压紧”，英文解释为“to press something together in a tight and solid way”举个🌰：Cars had compacted the snow until it was like ice. 汽车把雪碾得越来越实，直到变得像冰一样。

作形容词，指紧凑的；体积小的；作名词表示“小型汽车”，英文解释为“ A compact or a compact car is a car that is smaller than the average car, and that is economical to run.”

collapse /kəˈlæps/ 作名词，表示“（系统、组织、企业等的）崩溃，瓦解，失败”，英文解释为“the sudden failure of a system, organization, business, etc.”举个🌰：I don't know what caused the collapse of her marriage. 我不知道她婚姻失败的原因是什么。

作动词，1）表示“崩溃，垮掉，失败”，英文解释为“to suddenly be unable to continue or work correctly”举个🌰：Talks between management and unions have collapsed. 劳资谈判彻底破裂。

2）表示“（由于压力、无力或缺乏支持而）倒塌，坍塌；崩溃，垮掉”，英文解释为“to fall down suddenly because of pressure or having no strength or support”举个🌰：Thousands of buildings collapsed in the earthquake. 数以千计的建筑物在地震中倒塌了。

Other countries, including the United States, have similar problems.

包括美国在内的其他国家也有类似的问题。

“Land subsidence is an overlooked problem that almost exists everywhere,” said Manoochehr Shirzaei, a geophysicist at Virginia Tech who has studied subsidence in American coastal cities using similar methods. Dr. Shirzaei also reviewed the new study on cities by Zurui Ao of South China Normal University, Xiaomei Hu and Shengli Tao of Peking University, and their colleagues.

“地面沉降是一个被忽视的问题，几乎在任何地方都存在，”弗吉尼亚理工大学的地球物理学家马努切赫尔·希尔扎伊说，他用类似的方法研究了美国沿海城市的沉降。希尔扎伊同样审阅了这篇关于城市的新论文，它的作者是华南师范大学的敖祖锐、北京大学的胡晓梅和陶胜利，以及他们的同事。

geophysicist /ˌdʒi.əˈfɪz.ɪ.sɪst/ 表示“地球物理学家”，英文解释为“a person who studies geophysics”

“I believe the majority of the adaptation strategies that we have, and resiliency plans to combat climate change, are inaccurate, just because they did not include land subsidence,” he said. “It hasn't been studied the way, for example, sea level rise has been studied.”

“我认为，我们现有的大多数适应策略和应对气候变化的韧性计划都是不准确的，因为它们没有包括地面沉降研究，”他说。“它还没有像海平面上升问题那样被研究过。”

adaptation /ˌæd.əpˈteɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“适应”，英文解释为“the process of changing to suit different conditions”

2）表示“（电影、书、剧本等的）改编”，英文解释为“a film, book, play, etc. that has been made from another film, book, play, etc.”

resilience /rɪˈzɪliəns/ 表示“快速恢复的能力；适应力”，英文解释为“the ability of people or things to feel better quickly after sth unpleasant, such as shock, injury, etc.”

The new study was based on satellite radar measurements of how much the ground surface in 82 major cities, accounting for three-quarters of the urban population, moved up or down between 2015 and 2022. The researchers compared these measurements to data on potential contributing factors, like the weight of buildings in these cities and changing groundwater levels underneath them.

这项新研究基于卫星雷达，测量了占城市人口四分之三的82个主要城市的地表2015年至2022年间的升降幅度。研究人员将这些测量结果与潜在影响因素的数据进行了比较，比如这些城市建筑物的重量和地下水位的变化情况。

The researchers also combined their subsidence measurements with projections of sea level rise to figure out which cities might end up below sea level. One caveat with these findings is that they assumed a constant rate of subsidence over the next 100 years, but these rates can change along with human activity.

研究人员还将沉降测量结果与海平面上升预测相结合，以确定哪些城市最终可能低于海平面。这些发现中需要注意的一点是，他们假设未来100年下沉的速度是恒定的，但这些速度可能会随着人类活动而改变。

caveat /ˈkeɪvɪˌæt/ 表示“（进一步行动前的）警告，告诫；限制条款”，英文解释为“a warning to consider something before taking any more action, or a statement that limits a more general statement”举个🌰：He agreed to the interview, with the caveat that he could approve the final article. 他答应接受访问，条件是访问稿刊登前须经他同意。

assume /əˈsjuːm/ 1）表示“假定；假设；认为”，英文解释为“to think or accept that sth is true but without having proof of it”举个🌰：It is generally assumed that stress is caused by too much work. 普遍认为，紧张是工作过重所致。

2）表示“承担，担任；夺取；呈现，具有”，英文解释为“to take or begin to have responsibility or control, sometimes without the right to do so, or to begin to have a characteristic”举个🌰：The new president assumes office at midnight tonight. 新总统在今晚午夜就职。

About 6 percent of land in coastal cities currently has a relative elevation below sea level. If the global average sea level rises by 0.87 meters, or a little less than 3 feet, by 2120 (the higher of two commonly used scenarios considered by the researchers) that proportion could rise to 26 percent, this study found.

目前，沿海城市约6%的土地相对海拔低于海平面。这项研究发现，如果到2120年全球平均海平面上升0.87米（这是研究人员考虑的两种常用情况中数值较高者），这一比例可能会上升到26%。

scenario /sɪˈnɑːrɪˌəʊ/表示“场景；设想；可能的情况；可能发生的事态”，英文解释为“If you talk about a likely or possible scenario, you are talking about the way in which a situation may develop.”举个🌰：There are several possible scenarios. 有几种可能出现的局面。

proportion /prəˈpɔː.ʃən/ 1）表示“比率，比例”，英文解释为“the number, amount, or level of one thing when compared to another”举个🌰：The proportion of women to men at my college was about one to eight. 我所在大学的男女比例大约为8：1。

2）表示“部分；份额”，英文解释为“the number or amount of a group or part of something when compared to the whole”举个🌰：Children make up a large proportion of the world's population. 孩子占世界人口的很大一部分。

3）表示“（某物各个组成部分或一物与另一物之间的）相称，协调，均衡，匀称”，英文解释为“the correct or most attractive relationship between the size of different parts of the same thing or between one thing and another”举个🌰：Your legs are very much in proportion to (= the right size for) the rest of your body. 你的腿和你身体的其他部位比例非常协调。

Being below sea level doesn't mean a city is automatically doomed. Much of the Netherlands is below sea level and sinking, but the country has been extensively engineered to prevent flooding in places and to accommodate it in others.

低于海平面并不意味着一座城市就会自动灭亡。荷兰的大部分地区都在海平面以下，并且正在下沉，但这个国家已经进行了广泛的工程设计，以防止某些地方发生洪水，并在其他地方蓄洪。

doom /duːm/ 作名词，表示“死亡；毁灭；厄运；劫数”，英文解释为“death or destruction; any terrible event that you cannot avoid”举个🌰：She had a sense of impending doom (= felt that sth very bad was going to happen). 她预感到厄运已经逼近。

作动词，表示“使注定；使必然发生”，英文解释为“to make someone or something certain to do or experience something unpleasant, or to make something bad certain to happen”举个🌰：Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past? 我们注定要重复过去的错误吗？

doomed /duːmd/ 作形容词，表示“注定失败（或灭亡、毁灭）的”，英文解释为“certain to fail, die, or be destroyed”举个🌰：This is a doomed city. 这是一座注定要毁灭的城市。

accommodate /əˈkɒm.ə.deɪt/ 1）表示“为（某人）提供住宿（或膳宿、座位等）”，英文解释为“to provide sb with a room or place to sleep, live or sit”举个🌰：The hotel can accommodate up to 123 guests. 这家旅馆可供123位旅客住宿。

2）表示“容纳；为…提供空间”，英文解释为“to provide enough space for sb/sth”举个🌰：Over 10 minutes of music can be accommodated on one CD. 一张激光唱片可以容纳10多分钟的音乐。

3）表示“为…提供方便；对…予以照顾性考虑”，英文解释为“to give what is needed to someone”举个🌰：We always try to accommodate (= help) our clients with financial assistance if necessary. 必要时，我们总是尽力为客户提供财务上的帮助。

4）表示“考虑到；顾及”，英文解释为“to consider sth, such as sb's opinion or a fact, and be influenced by it when you are deciding what to do or explaining sth”举个🌰：Our proposal tries to accommodate the special needs of minority groups. 我们的提案尽量照顾到少数群体的特殊需要。

5）表示“顺应，适应（新情况）”，英文解释为“to change your behaviour so that you can deal with a new situation better”举个🌰：I needed to accommodate to the new schedule. 我需要适应新的时间表。

The key to minimizing damage is limiting groundwater extraction, the researchers wrote. Shanghai is already taking this approach and is sinking more slowly than other cities. In Japan, groundwater management over the years has proved successful at stabilizing subsidence in Tokyo and Osaka.

研究人员写道，减少破坏的关键是限制地下水的开采。上海已经采取了这种做法，而且下沉速度比其他城市要慢。在日本，多年来的地下水管理已证明成功地稳定了东京和大阪的沉降。

extraction /ɪkˈstræk.ʃən/ 表示“（尤指用力的）拔出，提取；提炼；拔出；开采”，英文解释为“the process of removing something, especially by force”举个🌰：The extraction of minerals has damaged the countryside. 采矿破坏了乡间的环境。

stabilize /ˈsteɪ.bəl.aɪz/ 1）表示“使稳定；使稳固”，英文解释为“If you stabilize something, you cause it to become fixed or to stop changing.”

2）表示“稳定下来”，英文解释为“If something stabilizes, it becomes fixed or stops changing.”举个🌰：The patient's condition stabilized.患者的病情稳定下来。

Some places are even combating subsidence by injecting water into depleted aquifers in a process called managed recharge.

一些地方甚至通过向枯竭的含水层注水来防治沉降，这被称为“管理补给”。

inject /ɪnˈdʒekt/ 1）表示“投入；增添；引入，带来”，英文解释为“to introduce something new that is necessary or helpful to a situation or process”举个🌰：A large amount of money will have to be injected into the company if it is to survive. 如果要挽救这家公司就必须注入大量资金。

2）表示“（给…）注射（药物等）”，英文解释为“to put a drug or other substance into a person's or an animal's body using a syringe”举个🌰：Adrenalin was injected into the muscle. 往肌肉里注射了肾上腺素。

区分：

📍ingest表示“摄入；食入；咽下”，英文解释为“to take food, drugs, etc. into your body, usually by swallowing”举个🌰：The chemicals can be poisonous if ingested. 这些化学制品如果摄入体内可能会引起中毒。

补充：

📍digest表示“消化”，英文解释为“when you digest food, or it digests , it is changed into substances that your body can use”举个🌰：Humans cannot digest plants such as grass. 人不能消化草类植物。

depleted /dɪˈpliː.tɪd/ 表示“消耗的；耗费的；减少的”，英文解释为“reduced”举个🌰：Measures have been taken to protect the world's depleted elephant population. 人们已经采取措施保护世界上已经为数不多的大象。

It's difficult to stop subsidence entirely, Dr. Nicholls said. “You've got to live with what's left.” Mainly, he said, this means adapting to sea level rise in coastal areas; not just the sea level rise caused by climate change, but also the effects of sinking land.

尼科尔斯说，很难完全阻止地表下沉。“你必须适应剩下的情况。”他说，这主要意味着适应沿海地区的海平面上升；这不仅是由于气候变化所导致，还有陆地下沉的影响。

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